about coastal quilt artists

Coastal Quilt Artists (l-r) Sandy Gregg, Bobbie Sullivan and Betty Crowell posing in front of the Arena Farms quilt, first prize winner at the International Quilt Association show in Houston, TX in October 2008. Click image for detail.

Coastal Quilt Artists (CQA) is a group of 13 women who come together twice a month in Scituate MA to share their love of quilting. These artists individually have produced an eclectic range of art quilts featuring a variety of techniques since they started meeting in 2004, many have been quilting since the mid seventies. Using fabric as their medium , the group promotes critical feedback for its members resulting in an excellent support system for each individual’s work.

Every year CQA makes a composite quilt based on a photo. This local landscape is then "sliced" into sections and each quilter interprets her panel. The techniques used to reproduce the photo involve all kinds of surface design including painting, photo transfer, silk screening, embroidery, fused fabrics, beads, trims, netting and massive machine quilting.

Previous "slice" quilts have been scenes of Massachusetts featuring the towns of Scituate, Cohasset, Lowell and Concord, the latter winning first prize in the Group Category at the prestigious International Quilt Association show in Houston, TX in October 2008. The two newest ones highlight Boston’s Fenway Park and Back Bay. The members of CQA exhibit regularly in regional and national quilt shows as well as local art shows. The current members of Coastal Quilt Artists are:

Lynne Conover Abington, MA

Betty Crowell Yarmouthport, MA

Janet Duncan Dignan Weymouth, MA

Janet Dye Bridgewater, MA

Sandy Gregg Cambridge, MA

Anne Marcin Scituate, MA

Penny Myles Hingham, MA

Graciela Piccolo Pembroke, MA

Pat Smith Marshfield, MA

Joan Randall Hillsborough, NH

Mary Lou Schwinn Cotuit, MA

Bobbie Sullivan Scituate, MA

Previous members who worked on the "slice" quilts:

Geri Barr Australia

Cris Crawford Sherborn

Gail Lane Hingham

Eleanor Meaney Hanover

A View from the Glades 2004. Just one of the many "slice" quilts by CQA. Click image to view details.